Uefa takes action against Chelsea

European football’s governing body, Uefa, has opened disciplinary proceedings against Chelsea and the club’s manager, Jose Mourinho, on charges of bringing the game into disrepute.

A statement released on the Uefa website says the action follows comments and statements made by Mourinho and Chelsea after the Champions League game against Barcelona at the Nou Camp on February 23.

The last-16-round game was won by Barcelona 2-1, and afterwards Mourinho called into question the refereeing and integrity of Swedish official Anders Frisk.

Frisk subsequently said he had received death threats from Chelsea fans and announced he was retiring from refereeing international matches.

The Uefa statement said that disciplinary proceedings have been opened against Chelsea, Mourinho, assistant manager Steven Clarke and club security official Les Miles “for making false declarations, notably in the complaint sent by Chelsea FC following the Uefa Champions League match played against FC Barcelona at the Camp Nou on 23 February 2005”.

“By further disseminating these wrong and unfounded statements, Chelsea FC allowed its technical staff to deliberately create a poisoned and negative ambience amongst the teams and to put pressure on the refereeing officials,” the statement continued.

The Uefa statement said that the disciplinary case will be dealt with by the Uefa control and disciplinary body on March 31.

Chelsea went on to win the second leg 4-2 and qualified for the Champions League quarterfinals, where they were drawn against Bayern Munich.—Sapa-AFP